Mammoth new Exxon Mobil campus lures a fancy new mixed-use development: The next CityCentre is here?

The new 60-acre CityPlace mixed-use development will feature millions of square feet of office, retail and living space.
PatrinelyGroup.com

With employees already starting to move into the new Exxon Mobil campus in North Houston, it should come as no surprise that a 60-acre mixed-use development located just south of The Woodlands is already in the works.

Formerly known as Springwoods Village Town Center, the upcoming development — situated at the nexus of I-45, the Grand Parkway and the Hardy Toll Road — has been renamed CityPlace and will feature millions of square feet of office, retail and living space, as well as restaurants and at least two hotels.

The master plan for CityPlace includes a lakefront public plaza that will be surrounded by office buildings as well as lakefront restaurants.

The property for the CityPlace project, initially purchased in 1961, was held for development until 2008 when Exxon Mobil purchased nearby land for its new Houston campus. The project has three investors, CDC Houston Inc., the Houston-based Patrinely Group and USAA Real Estate Co. from San Antonio.

According to the Houston Business Journal, Gensler's Houston office and the office of James Burnett assisted CDC Houston and the Patrinely Group with the master plan for CityPlace, which includes a lakefront public plaza that will be surrounded by office buildings as well as lakefront restaurants.

“We see CityPlace as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Robert Fields, president of the Patrinely Group, told HBJ. "A blank development canvas adjacent to a remarkable new transportation hub, which will allow us to holistically create from scratch an 18-hour urban center like no other in Southeast Texas.”

Transwestern's Houston office is to oversee leasing of the 400,000 square feet of retail space in the development. While no leases have been signed yet, managing director of retail for Transwestern Nick Hernandez said interested parties include movie theaters and a health club. He anticipates that a variety of restaurants and clothing stores will sign on to the project as well.